DIY half case for E-pl1

Hello. I’ve been looking around for cases for my E-pl1. So far there are only 2 extremes, cheap Chinese ones, and gorgeous but extremely expensive Korean/Japanese ones. Solution: Design and build one myself from materials at home. Took me about a week and a half to finish. While it doesn’t look as polished and has that “diy-quality” to it, I am very happy with it. Total cost: $0.00.

Like all big projects, stop complaining how much work it is and just jump right into it. First thing’s first: Get something to cut with, and lay out the foundation.

Then I basically eyeballed the rest; held up a ruler and measured out the lens release button, lcd, etc…

Some scribbles on the paper for some minor adjustments and adding that little piece that hooks over the strap lug. I want how I could easily slip the case off, but none of the cheap Chinese ones had this, only the Korean ones, and I wasn't planning on spending an extra $100.

Repeat for the other half and voila!

I then decided to create a kind of mold by stacking the base several times. This will help keep things in shape. I used the templates to trace it onto a manila folder. I just don’t want to wrap the camera in leather to protect against scratches, so I decided to layer several manila folders for shock protection as well.

Several layers later and it is actually very sturdy, holding its shape without the mold.

Found some nice blood red silk material from a jacket we were about to throw out anyway and traced out the shape. At this point, I started using rubber cement to glue the fabrics and leather.

Next some leather. Same thing, trace and cut out.

Problem was that since the case was several manila folders thick, it was visible between the leather and the silk. At first I was planning to just take a permanent black marker and color it in, but after going through the closet, I found a nice set of thick suede laces.

Last step: Add velcro to the lug hooks.

And now for some product shots! I wasn’t planning on it, but the red outline on the case and the blue on the lens complement each other, which looks really really nice. Hope you like it and enjoy!

Just a little note. It was split in 2 pieces rather than 1 long piece because I designed it to be small enough to be traced and cut out from an average sized wallet. I was planning to visit those 99c stores where I could get a variety of leather wallets but had no time. However, I am planning to make another one with brown leather, or perhaps faux crocodile?

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